Govt bodies, experts get NDMA gag order on Joshimath crisis

A day after ISRO publicised its assessment that showed Joshimath sank by 5.4 cm in 12 days, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Saturday issued a gag order on government institutions and officials on sharing data on social media and commenting in the media on "their own interpretations" of the land subsidence episode in Uttarakhand.

The gag order to 12 government institutions across came under immediate criticism from Congress with its president Mallikarjun Kharge asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi "not to shoot the messenger" and General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh saying that only one man knows everything and decide who will speak on anything in New India.

While sources claim that the directive is not to deny information to the media but to avoid confusion, a similar communication has been issued by the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand government saying that some institutions are publishing information on Joshimath without taking permission from authorities. The state government claimed these were "adversely" impacting the ground situation as well as "triggering panic" among the community.

Also Read | After Joshimath crisis, Karnaprayag, Landour among Uttarakhand towns staring at disaster

The communications from the NDMA and state government came following ISRO releasing satellite images of Joshimath which showed the town sinking by 5.4 cm between December 27 last year and January 8. However, the report was soon taken down from the website by the ISRO on Friday itself.

In its office memorandum, the NDMA "observed" that various government institutions were releasing data related to the ground subsidence in Joshimath in social media platforms and its officials interacting with media.

"It is creating confusion not only among affected residents but also among citizens of the country," it said adding, this issue was highlighted during a meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) as well as during deliberations at the NDMA on Thursday.

Emphasising that an expert group has been formed for assessment of ground subsidence in Joshimath, the office memorandum said, "you are requested to sensitise your organisation about this matter and refrain from posting anything on the media platform until the final report of the expert group is released by the NDMA."

Also Read | Warnings aplenty in Joshimath before spiralling collapse

The office memorandum is addressed to the heads of institutions like Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Geological Survey of India (Kolkata), ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre (Hyderabad), Central Ground Water Board (Delhi), IIT-Roorkee and Surveyor General of India (Dehradun).

It was also sent to National Geophysical Research Institute (Hyderabad), National Institute of Hydrology (Roorkee), Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (Dehradun), National Institute of Disaster Management (Delhi) and Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority.

The Uttarakhand government sent the communication to the Geological Survey of India, Uttarakhand Space Application Centre, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, National Geophysical Research Institute, Central Building Research Institute, IIT-Roorkee, ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre and National Seismological Centre.

In a tweet, Kharge said the news of cracks developing in houses in Karnprayag and Tehri Garhwal is emerging after Joshimath but the government is banning the ISRO report and barring officials from interacting with media instead of solving the problem. "Don't shoot the messenger," Kharge said.

Ramesh too targeted the government in his tweet, "They make one Constitutional institution attack another. Now, the National Disaster Management Authority tells ISRO to shut up. But how can satellite images lie? This is New India where only one man knows everything, and will decide who will speak on anything."